Once in a Decade. But Why?

Tonight Manchester United will face Real Madrid in the Champions League for the first time since 2003. That’s 10 years since two of the biggest names in European football will face each other in the most prestigious annual football tournament in the world.

Ridiculous, really.

I mean, can you imagine a Tennis Grand Slam without Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer or Andy Murray? Let alone 40 Grand Slams without these encounters? Can you imagine a NFL season without Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears? A MLB season without Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees? A FA Cup campaign without Manchester United/Arsenal/Chelsea/Liverpool playing against one of the biggest names? A FIFA World Cup without a match between the most popular nations?

According to the ECA, 75% of the clubs expressed “satisfaction” or “extreme satisfaction” with the current structure and format of Uefa’s club competitions. That’s only because they are too stupid to realize that the in the current format they lose a lot of potential income: A football tournament that does not guarantee that its biggest sporting brands play each other on regular basis is not fulfilling its potential and the clubs should not be satisfied by it.

A tournament which promises regular duels between the best clubs in the world would be a much better media asset. Actually, it will make a better sporting sense as well.